Electrical socket



Peb. 24, 194s; B, K, N,WER 2,435,661 ELECTRICAL SOQKET FiledvApril-f 1, 1946 Patented Feb. 24,l 1948 ESTATES t? i y.2,436,661

'ELECTRICAL-SOCKET Bert K.. .-NastenEhicago, Ill;

Application Apil 1, 1946,Serial No. 658,609

be `rotated in either direction and the rotation of the lamp is not limited. This is velisa-dvantageous in that the lam-p manI Alee=rotatedtooI-far' the `result that it is not securely held? in the .sockets and that the proper electrical' connections- `tothe lamp from the sockets would not be made;

The vprincipal object of this invention `is to proride an improved` socket 'arranged wherein the lamp or other electrical? device is l'lield` firmly in place in the sockets and wherein the-- lamp-Mor` other electrical device may be rotated in one direction only through a. limited. amount of rotation, thereby insuring yproper electrical connections thereto and.I properA maintenance'- of" the lamp in the sockets.

Further obiectsof. this invention reside in the details of construction of` the improved sockets.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent to thoseskilled' inthe art upon reference tol the* accompanying specification, claims; and

drawing in which- Fig. 1 is an elevational View of a fluorescent lamp applied to the sockets of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the left hand socket of Fig. 1 looking from the right with the contact pins oi' the lamp shown in one position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing` the contact pins of the lamp in another position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6 6 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is an exploded view of the various parts making up the socket.

The electrical device or fluorescent lamp is designated at I and it includes contact pins II, I2 and I3 which are received by the sockets I4 and l suitably mounted on a supporting base I6.

The socket I4 includes a body portion which may be of laminated construction including Va ibase It! andside Wallskf'llg, '26: and 2|, al1' prefer-` ably-made of insulating material. Spring contacts 23 and'24, preferably made of spring brass, arecarried 'between' the-1 side walls 19, 20 and 2| and are held in place by vinsert laminations 25, also-- made of insulating material. A face plate 26 of insulating material coversthe recess formed betweenthesidewalls I9', 2IJ'- and 2If'. Thesocket also-includes a' mounting bracket 21'.

' Laminations I8, I9; 2-0, 2I- and the face plate 2lig are provided' with1 holes 29'iorI receiving rivets 453 for clamping lall of' the laminations in assembled relation. The* base plate I8 and the side 'walif laminations-I5 and 20 are provided with extensions'afand' thelaminationsv I9, 20 and 2l are provided" with inner wallsurfaces 3l for accommodatihg the spring contacts Eiland Z'll.V These laminationsy I9; 29- and 2I are also provided with 'inwardly extending Vlugs 312'which cooperate with detents 34 formed in the spring contacts 23 and 24 for locating 'thespring contacts` with respect tothe sidewall laminations. The inner surfaces '33J ofthe lamination-sl I9; 21) andA 21, being spaced apart, permit the insertion of the contact pins II, I2 and" I3 therebetween;

The spring contacts 23- and Mareprovided with ears 35 to ywhich electrical connections may be made and are' also provided with detents 36 for cooperating; with the `pins Il' and VI2 of the iluorescent. lamp IIl. The insert laminations 25 are provided withA notches 3T conforming to the detents 34' of :the spring contacts 23 and 24k and these `notches '31 on the insert laminations 25 opcrate to clamp. ythe spring contacts' 211By and 24 in place. The connecting ears 35 also cooperate with the extensions 30 of the laminations I8. I9 and 20 to add strength thereto particularly when the electrical connections are being made thereto.

The face member 26 is providedwith a slot 4I) extending to the edge of the face member for the purpose of receiving the pins II, I2 and I3 of the fluorescent lamp I0. The face member 26 is also provided with diametrically opposed quadrant openings 4I merging With the slot 40 for receiving the pins II and I2 of the uorescent lamp I 0 when the lamp is rotated in one direction through substantially degrees. The face member 2B may be provided adjacent the quadrant openings 4I with ,extensions 42 which, in turn, may cooperate with the pin I3 of the iluorescent lamp for adding stability to` the arrangement.

The various laminations forming the socket are all secured together in a unitary arrangediverging side walls 3l for receiving the spring contacts 23 and 24 and that a slot 33 is formed to permit the entrance of the contact pins of; v

the fluorescent lamp. It is also seen that the insert member 25 maintains the spring contacts 23 and 24 in place in the recess. s

The face member 26 closes the recess with the exception of the slot 40 and the quadrant open` ings 4I. The mounting bracket 21 is secured to the assembled socket by the rivets 45.

Thev sockets are secured to the supporting base I6 by means of screws 41 and nuts 43 cooperating with an opening 44 in the mounting-bracket 21 and the ears 35 may have electrical connections 49 secured thereto by screws 50.

The left hand socket I4 is formed with the parts arranged as shown in Fig. '1 but in forming the right hand socket I5 it is necessary to reverse the face member 26 so that the quadrant openings of the sockets I4 and I5 will correspond.

With the sockets I4 and I5 mounted on the supporting base I6 the fluorescent lamp I0 mai7 be inserted therebetween. In so doing the contact pins Il, I2 and I3 enter the slot 40 from the edge of the face member, as shown in Fig. 2. After the fluorescent lamp assumes the position shown in Fig. 2, it is rotated through 90 degrees, this rotation being permitted by the quadrant openings 4I in the face memberZG, and when the lamp is rotated to the position shown in Fig. 3, the contact pins II and I2 engage the detents 36 of the spring contacts 23 and 24 respectively, thereby providing electrical connections to the iluorescent lamp.

The quadrant openings 4I permit rotation of the fluorescent lamp I0 in only one direction and through onlyA a limited angle of rotation whereby the proper electrical connections are established and the lamp I0 is properly maintainedr in the sockets I4 and I5. The iluorescent lamp Ill may be removed from the sockets by turning thelamp through 9B degrees from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 2 and then sliding the lamp along the slot 40.

While for purposes of illustration one form of 4 this invention has been disclosed, other forms thereof may become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to this disclosure and, therefore, this invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A socket for an electrical device having a plurality of pins extending therefrom, comprising, a body'member of insulating material having a recess therein provided with inwardly extending lugs, a pair of spring contacts in the recess and having detents engaging the lugs, an insert member of insulating material between the spring contacts and having notches engaging the detents to hold the spring contacts in place in the recess, and a face member of insulating material secured to the body member and covering the recess andV holding the spring contacts and insert member'in assembled frelation therein and provided with a slot extending to the edge of the face member and opening into the recess for receiving the pins of the electrical device and also provided with diametrically opposed quadrant openings adjacent the spring contacts and merging with the slot for receiving and guiding the pins into engagement with the spring contacts when rotated in one direction through substantially ninety degrees 2. A socket for an electrical device having a plurality of pins extending therefrom, comprising a body member of insulating material having a recess therein, a pair of spring contacts mounted in spaced relation in therecess, and a face member of insulating material secured to the body member and covering the recess and provided with a slot extending to the edge of the face member and opening into the recess for receiving the pins of the electrical device, and also provided with diametrically opposed quadrant openings adjacent the spring contacts and merging with the slot for receiving and guiding the pins into engagement with the spring contacts when rotated in one direction through substantially ninety degrees.

BERT K, NASTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

2,317,163v Young Apr. 20, 1940 

